Owlboy

Don’t let enemies ruffle your feathers – rule the roost

$24.99 Developer D-Pad Studio, dpadstudio.com Requirements OS X 10.7.5 or later, dual-core processor, 2GB RAM, OpenGL 3.0 support

Owlboy asks a simple question: how would 2D, side-scrolling platform games change if the protagonist could fly instead of merely jump? You play as Otus, a mute owlet apprentice, thrown into a violent conflict. when robot sky-pirates attack his village.

The caverns that compose Owlboy’s airborne world are vast and winding, full of loops and switchbacks, branching chutes that double back on themselves. There’s no aimless wandering through these underground waterfalls or volcanic ruins, however: puzzles are often contained to a single room, and each dungeon has a central theme. One early set of puzzles, for example, requires wringing out a rain-heavy cloud to flood certain nooks and crannies.

The combat, too, has an appreciable rhythm. Otus is rather defenseless on his own, but his signature move is to call in his ragtag compatriots: anti-aircraft gunner Geddy and Alphonse, a gallant newcomer. With the click of a button, Otus can grab a teammate by the shoulders and dive into battle, darting to and fro while Geddy takes potshots with a long-range pistol, or swooping in close for a blast from Alphonse’s combination flamethrower-shotgun. With swarming insects and rock-hurling cavemen at every turn, Owlboy has the sensibility of a twin-stick shooter.

Neither Owlboy’s dungeon structure nor shooting combat are particularly groundbreaking, but rather remixed and recontextualized. The developer stretches its chosen genre far enough to develop a unique identity, but not so far that its lineage is unrecognizable. Skirmishes and puzzle-solving are woven together deftly, and each dungeon has a sense of spatial awareness and momentum not seen in traditionally grounded platformers.

The plot also moves apace for the most part, steadily introducing new puzzle concepts or setpieces: a stealth section here, a chase scene there. Even when predictability or exposition bogs down the plot, Owlboy’s sharply drawn characters push it forward. This is where D-Pad’s tightknit pixel art works best: not as a retro signifier, but as a complement to the warmth and earnestness of its cast.

the bottom line. Owlboy takes hoary genre standards and infuses them with new ideas and charming, memorable characters.

Concentric rings provide coins, which can be used to buy upgrades in town.

Even when you’re in the belly of the beast, robot pirates can’t hit what they can’t see.